News Item #185

The Courier-Journal reports in this article  that GOP leader's in the state legislature are demanding an audit of the Highway Construction Contingency Account. The fund is intended for use in emergency highway repairs, but the GOP leaders accuse Gov. Patton of using it as a political slush fund to pay for pet projects in his home Pike County. Over the past 2 1/2 years Pike County received nearly 21% of the money spent in the account. This is 3 times as much of the second place Lawrence county and 25 times the average paid to Kentucky's 120 other counties. Transportation Secretary James Codell III says that there is no formal process for evaluating requests for use of the account.